How to Leave Your Comfort Zone! | Jack Canfield

Hi there. I'm Jack Canfield, and today I'd like to talk to you about one of the biggest blocks that keeps people stuck where they are and prevents them from achieving their goals in life. I'm talking about our fear of being uncomfortable. You know, too many people are reluctant to take risks or experience unfamiliar situations because it forces them to leave their comfort zone. But if you don't take risks or experience new situations, you'll never be given the opportunity to grow. And when it comes to creating more success in your life, you, growth is required. So today I'd like to talk to you about what keeps you stuck in your comfort zone and how a single brave leap into the unknown can completely transform you and improve every aspect of your life. But first off, let's talk about why now is the most important time for you to be taking brave action outside your comfort zone. Because if you're like me, the past 13 months have completely changed what your comfort zone looks like. Over the past year, all of my meetings, trainings, workshops, keynotes, and coaching now take place over zoom, a technology I wasn't even familiar with and comfortable with using before the pandemic changed our lives. And I also haven't been traveling at all. And traveling used to be a main feature of my life, and I've spent so much more time at home with my wife, but hardly any time with my friends and extended family. And I'm guessing that you've also seen your comfort zone change significantly over the past year as well. Maybe you've seen it shrink in certain areas or maybe grow in ways you never expected. And now we're fast approaching another seismic shift in our comfort zone, with more people getting vaccinated and the world slowly beginning to evolve into what I like to think of as our new better rather than what most people call the new normal. And we're going to be called upon again to move beyond our comfort zones and start doing things that may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable to us. For example, if you've been working at home for months, maybe you're going to have to start going into the office again and dealing with a lot more people than you've been used to. Or maybe you'll have to start dealing with a commute you've been glad to have lived without. Or maybe you'll have to say goodbye to spending as much time with your family and your pets. Or maybe you'll be required to step up in any number of new or different ways or need to explore new opportunities or take that next big step in Your life or career, and how well you succeed in these things will depend on how willing you are to move beyond your comfort zone and embrace the unknown. So let's talk about how you can do that. Now, the first thing I want you to realize is your comfort zone is entirely in your head. Now, you may think it's sitting on your comfy couch, all curled up and cozy with your favorite people or pets, but in reality, your comfort zone is what you consider to be familiar and safe. In fact, Kathleen Seely, one of my major trainers, calls it just that, your familiar zone. What you're familiar with, it's not a place you necessarily enjoy being. Sometimes your comfort zone can be a situation that bores you to death or causes you a lot of annoyance or unhappiness. But it's something you know, what you're used to, what you're familiar with. Now, there's nothing surprising or unexpected about it, and that's what makes it feel safe to you. But staying in one spot just because it feels safe will never help you get to where you want to go in your life. Now, the next thing I want you to do is to start paying more attention to your thoughts, because like I just said, your comfort zone lives entirely in your head. It's created by your thoughts. Some are conscious thoughts, some are unconscious thoughts, especially the negative thoughts and the limiting beliefs that make you doubt yourself and fear that if you take a brave leap into the unknown, you. You're probably going to fail, get hurt, or suffer some major loss. And we all have that negative, critical voice in our heads. It comes from a primitive part of our brain that evolved to warn us away from danger and keep us safe, which worked real well thousands of years ago when we were living in the wild and the dangers were like animals that could kill us. But today, if we listen to that voice and never take any risk, we will never be able to grow and develop as a person. So what I recommend you do to change this cycle is this. Instead of focusing on what could go wrong if you venture outside your comfort zone, start focusing on what could go right. Spend some time every day or week thinking, talking and writing about the reality you want to create the outcomes and results you want rather than the ones you don't want. Now, one powerful and effective way to ensure you do this is to engage in a daily practice of repeating affirmations and which affirm the results you want and then taking a moment to visualize what you just affirmed. Now, an affirmation is a positive statement that describes a goal or a vision you have that's already been achieved. So, for example, you could say something like, I'm so happy and grateful that I'm now living in a beautiful home on the beach in Maui, making 500,000.

A year, working with clients I love.

Or it could be, I'm so happy and grateful that I'm now conducting my weekly podcast interviewing successful women entrepreneurs.

The important thing is to state your.

Affirmation in the positive.

You want to say, I'm experiencing this rather than I'm not experiencing that, and stated in the present tense as already having been achieved.

Because when you describe something as being.

Achieved and then you close your eyes and clearly visualize yourself having that experience.

The cognitive dissonance that it creates in.

Your subconscious mind will prompt your brain to look for creative ways to resolve that dissonance by making that vision a reality. So if you want to get unstuck and move beyond your comfort zone, I encourage you to get really clear on what you want your new reality to look like and to feel like.

So take some time to do some journaling around it.

I promise you that'll help. And then spend some time every day imagining yourself experiencing that new reality and absolutely excelling at it. And that will help you create a positive and confident mindset that's going to make it so much easier for you.

To make your vision come true.

Now, I want to take a minute and insert something here.

If you've been following me very long.

You may be thinking, you know, I've heard this before, Jack. You always talk about using affirmations a lot. This is not new information.

But here's the thing.

I want you to ask yourself this and be honest with yourself. Am I doing this on a daily basis? Knowing about it is not enough. You have to do it.

Having the best lawnmower in the world.

In your garage but never using it does not get the grass cut. You have to use the tools you know about. And so that's why I strongly urge you to set aside a time every morning and every evening. You know, five to 10 minutes is all you need to repeat your affirmations and visualize what it would look like if you actually had achieved the goal or experiencing the results of that. All right, Another way to move beyond your comfort zone is to focus on what I call leaning into what makes you uncomfortable. Some people are more comfortable with the idea of taking a big leap into the unknown. But a lot of people find it a lot easier to think of this as a gentle lean in, more like dipping your toes into the water. It's usually a lot easier to move beyond your comfort zone into unfamiliar territory if you break down the journey into a series of small and easily achievable steps or tasks. Not only is this a way to more easily get over your fears and test the waters, but surprising success often happens when you lean into a new activity and open yourself to new opportunities and you're willing to pursue them further to see where they might take you. Without any absolute promise of success or a particular expectation, you just start, you lean into it, you see what it feels like, and then you find out if you want to keep going instead of simply sitting on the sidelines, deliberating, reflecting, contemplating, but not actually ever doing anything about it. Now, of course, one of the most extraordinary benefits of just leaning into it is that you begin to create momentum, that unseen energy force that propels you forward and brings more opportunities and resources your way. And also seems to introduce you at just the right time to the people who can help you complete the next leg of your journey. Now, the next thing I recommend you do is, is to identify any blocks that might be holding you back from taking that next step. Try to get really specific about this. Is it the fear of having to deal with a lot of people face to face again? Is it having to start a new job or learn a new skill? Are you going to have to have a difficult conversation with someone? Are you going to have to hire a daycare provider or end a relationship that's no longer serving you? Well, get clear on what the considerations, those thoughts you have, the feelings, fears you have, and any roadblocks that you think about that you think are stopping you from moving you beyond your comfort zone. And then identify some specific action steps that you can take to address or dissolve those blocks. And then after that, I encourage you to start using the rule of five to chunk down your goals into easy, bite sized tasks that don't overwhelm you. Now, ideally, you should be taking at least five steps toward creating your ideal life every single day. Now these don't have to be big steps, in fact, it's actually better if they're not. The important thing is achieving them and then crossing them off your list. Because like I was just talking about, completion creates momentum, it builds self confidence and it builds self esteem. And finally, I encourage you to practice doing things that are out of your habitual patterns and taking more risks in general. Now, I'm not talking about big or dangerous risks, but what does it force you to do something just a little bit scary or uncomfortable every day. Now this could be as simple as sending an email to a prospective client, or asking a mentor for advice, or having an awkward conversation with someone, or signing up for a free workshop or challenging yourself to try a new workout, as long as it gives you the opportunity to experience something unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Because when you take that risk and step out of your comfort zone and not only survive it, but succeed at it, you will get a powerful jolt, as I said, of self esteem and increased self confidence that will motivate you to take even bigger risks and expand your zone of comfort even further until you become the kind of person who can thrive in any situation in which you find yourself. So here's a little assignment for you, something you can do today. Write down three things that scare you just a little bit and commit to doing at least one of them today. Make that phone call. Send that email. Have that conversation. Make that request. Set a boundary. Take 10 minutes and meditate. Commit to that workshop. Sign up for that course. Get started in whatever way you can. Do the thing that will nudge you out of your comfort zone. And then tomorrow, do the next thing on your list. And the day after that, do the next thing on your list. And keep doing that. I promise you'll be blown away at how powering this simple experience is and the momentum you'll create will launch you closer to achieving your goals and creating the life that you want so much faster. And if you're willing, please leave a.

Comment below about the thing that you're.

Going to do today.

Because when you make it public, you give it power.

And I also can't wait to see.

What you commit to doing now. If you found this video helpful, in.

Addition to leaving a comment below, please make sure you like it, share it with a friend who may need it, and subscribe to my channel for more videos like this one. And for some additional resources on how to step out of your comfort zone, make sure to visit my website at jackcampfield.

Com.

Thanks for watching.

And remember, nothing in your life will.

Change for the better until you change something in your life.